Ralph Stanley And The Clinch Mountain Boys

RALPH STANLEY & THE CLINCH MOUNTAIN BOYS

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B I O G R A P H Y

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Ralph Stanley
Biography

Born February 25, 1927 in Dickenson County, Virginia; lives in Coeburn, Virginia

Ralph Stanley’s voice is not of this century nor of the last one, for that matter. Its stark emotional urgency is rooted in a darker time, when pain was the common coin of life and the world offered sinful humanity no hope of refuge. Preserved in the cultural amber of remote Appalachia, this terse, forlorn sound is the bedrock of Stanley’s inimitable style. But don’t mistake an ancient voice for ancient ways. Stanley tours and performs with the vigor and elan of a rock star.

Now 82 years old, Stanley has been performing professionally since he and his older brother, Carter, formed a band in their native southwestern Virginia in 1946. Between that date and 1966, when Carter died, the Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys became one of the most celebrated bluegrass groups in the world, rivaling in popularity such titans as Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs.

After Carter’s death, Stanley shifted the band’s musical emphasis from hard-driving bluegrass to an older, sadder, less adorned mountain style. As a bandleader, he nourished such young and promising talents as Ricky Skaggs, Keith Whitley, Larry Sparks and Charlie Sizemore, all of whom eventually graduated to distinguished solo careers. Click here to continue.

Ralph Stanley – Career Highlights

Honors and Acknowledgements

2008	Chosen by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia as the 2008 Outstanding Virginian in honor of his distinctive contributions, outstanding achievements, inspiring leadership and civic service.
2006	National Medal of Arts presented by National Endowment for the Arts and President George W. Bush.
2005	Proclamation from Virginia Governor Mark Warner presented to Dr. Ralph Stanley, a native Virginian, in honor of his life and work as a pioneering traditional country music artist.
2004	Ralph Stanley Museum and Traditional Music Center opened in Clintwood, VA
2004	Designated as Virginian of the Year (2004) by Virginia Press Association
2003	Lifetime Achievement Award, North American Folk Alliance
2002	Grammy - 45th Annual GRAMMY Awards: Best Bluegrass Album, Lost In The Lonesome Pines (Jim Lauderdale, Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys)
2002	IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Assoc.) Recorded Event of the Year – Clinch Mountain Sweethearts
2001	Grammys (2) - 44th Annual GRAMMY Awards: Best Male Country Vocal Performance – “Oh Death” Album of the Year – for his contributions to the album O Brother, Where Art Thou? Received his first Grammy at age 75; numerous nominations through the years
2001	CMA Award, Album of the Year – for his contributions to O Brother, Where Art Thou?
2001	ACM Award, Album of the Year – for his contributions to O Brother, Where Art Thou?
2001	Ralph J. Gleason Award from the Rex Foundation – “outstanding contributions to culture”
2001	Multi-Platinum Album – Mercury Records O Brother, Where Art Thou?. He is featured in two performances on the soundtrack album for the Coen Brothers’ film – “Oh, Death” (Stanley’s classic a cappella solo) and “Angel Band” (The Stanley Brothers).
2001	Ralph Stanley Day in San Francisco – February 6, 2001, declared by Mayor Willie Brown
2001	IBMA Album of the Year – for his contributions to O Brother, Where Art Thou?
2000	Library of Congress – “Living Legend” Medal
2000	Grand Ole Opry Induction – first of the new century
1999	IBMA Album of the Year – Clinch Mountain Country, Ralph Stanley & Friends
1999	IBMA Recorded Event of the Year – Clinch Mountain Country, Ralph Stanley &. Friends
1993	IBMA Recorded Event of the Year – Saturday Night/Sunday Morning
1992	IBMA Hall of Honor Induction – Stanley Brothers, 1992
1984	National Endowment for the Arts “National Heritage Fellowship” – presented by President Ronald Reagan
1976	Honorary Doctorate of Music – Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, TN
1960	Billboard Charts Top 20 Single – “How Far to Little Rock” Stanley Brother

Noteworthy Appearances

CBS Grammy Awards Show performance
CBS “Late Night w/David Letterman”
CBS “The Early Show”
ABC “Good Morning America”
NBC “The Tonight Show”
CMT “The Life and Times of Ralph Stanley”
Performed at Library of Congress Bicentennial Celebration in April 2000.

Stanley is the centrally featured artist in D. A. Pennebaker’s Down From The Mountain, (2000) a documentary on the making the O Brother soundtrack--shown in art theaters around the country and available on video.

The Ralph Stanley Story, a documentary directed by Herb E. Smith for Appalshop Film and Video is available on video (2000).
“Salute To Ralph Stanley,” a live five-hour music and interview show, was broadcast March 21, 2001, on WSM-AM, the Grand Ole Opry station. Involving Stanley’s musical recollections of the past 55 years, it was designed and hosted by DJ, musician and music scholar Eddie Stubbs. The entire show can be heard at www.wsmonline.com.

Featured in the bluegrass segment of “A Century of Country,” 13-show series aired on CMT.

Performed for Presidents Carter and Clinton’s Inaugurations (1977 & 1993).

Performed The Queen Elizabeth Hall in London; two extensive tours of Europe; three tours of Japan and the Far East.

Numerous appearances at the Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall, Ryman Auditorium, Grand Ole Opry, PBS’s “Austin City Limits,” Hollywood Palace, Greek Theatre, Tramps (NY), among many others.

Musical Accomplishments

Has performed continually since 1946. The patriarch of traditional and bluegrass music still does over 150 dates a year.

Has recorded over 170 albums, more than 30 albums in over 30 years with Rebel Records.

Has written or co-written (with this brother Carter) and recorded many songs that have become bluegrass standards.

He is one of the last living founders of a distinctly American art form, which blends rural-based lyrics with fluid, jazz-like instrumental improvisations.

Stanley’s music--particularly his high, mournful vocals--is so raw, powerful and authentic that it has moved and inspired performers from all musical genres. Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Dwight Yoakam, Vince Gill, Jerry Garcia, Hal Ketchum, Patty Loveless, John Anderson credit Stanley as a major inspiration.

Stanley’s band, the Clinch Mountain Boys, has been the incubator for two generations of country and bluegrass superstars, including Ricky Skaggs and the late Keith Whitley.

Ralph Stanley continues to live in and draw strength from the country, in his case the remote mountainous region of southwestern Virginia.

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